This Day in Baseball History
August 23rd

At American League Park in Washington, D.C., the White Sox establish a new American League record, winning their 19th consecutive game with a 4-1 victory over the hometown Senators. In 2002, the A's will string together 20 straight wins to surpass the AL mark, but will fall one short of the major league mark established by the 1935 Cubs.

1907

In the nightcap of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds, Pirates right-hander Howie Camnitz tosses a no-hitter. Pittsburgh beats the Giants in a shortened five-inning game, 1-0.

1931

In his attempt to break Walter Johnson's consecutive game winning streak of 17 games, Lefty Grove loses when Browns' hurler Dick Coffman throws a three-hit shutout, his only whitewash this season, against the A's. Reserve outfielder Jimmy Moore, playing in place of the absent Al Simmons, misjudges a fly ball, which leads to the decisive run and subsequently to Lefty's meltdown in the locker room.

1936

The Indians' seventeen year-old rookie pitcher, Bob Feller, makes his first major league start, striking out the first eight batters he faces. 'Rapid Robert' will finish the game with 15 strikeouts, one shy of the AL record, as Cleveland beats the Browns, 4-1.

1952

Bob Elliot of the Giants is tossed from the Cardinal game for protesting a strike two call, and his replacement, Bobby Hoffman, is also thrown out for arguing the third strike of the same at-bat.

1958

Gil Hodges hits his 14th career grand slam in the Dodgers' 10-1 victory over Milwaukee at LA Memorial Coliseum. The first baseman's bases-full round-tripper establishes a new National League record, but is far fewer than Lou Gehrig's major league mark of 23.

1958

Nellie Fox's streak of 98 consecutive games without striking out ends when he is whiffed by lefty Whitey Ford in the White Sox's 7-1 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. The Chicago second baseman last struck out on May 16 against another southpaw, Cleveland's Dick Tomanek.

1961

In the 14-0 rout of the Reds at Crosley Field, the Giants score twelve runs in the top of the ninth with 10 hits along with three Cincinnati errors. Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Jim Davenport (inside-the-park), Willie Mays, and John Orsino all go deep in the final frame to tie a major league team record with five round-trippers in an inning, joining the 1939 Giants and 1966 Twins as well as setting a record for total bases in one inning with 27.

1961

Dave Philley ties Sam Leslie's 29 year-old major league record with his 22nd pinch hit of the season. The historic moment occurs in an Orioles 7-5 extra-inning victory over the A's as the 41 year-old singles in the top of the 7th pinch hitting for Hoyt Wilhelm at Municipal Stadium.

1967

Twelve year-old Robert Stratta throws the eighth no-hitter in Little League World Series history when Chicago's Roseland North team beats Rota, Spain in the quarterfinals, 1-0. The future transplant surgeon doesn't allow the ball to leave the infield, retiring the last 11 batters he faces, eight on strikeouts.

1972

Joining Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, and Alex Johnson, Dick Allen becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit a ball into the center field bleachers at Comiskey Park. The gargantuan blast nearly nails White Sox announcer Harry Caray, who is calling the game from the grandstands.

1975

Making his first major league start, Indian rookie Rick Waits tosses a complete game, beating Kansas City, 7-1. The 23 year-old southpaw from Atlanta allows only five hits in the Royals Stadium contest.

1982

Gaylord Perry of the Mariners is ejected from the game for applying a foreign substance to the ball. Although the right hander has been suspected for years of loading up the baseball, it is the first time he has been caught by the umpires.

1989

Cincinnati manager Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime suspension from baseball due to allegations of betting on baseball.

1989

In the 11th frame of an eventual 22-inning 1-0 loss, the Expos' Youppi! becomes the first mascot to be thrown out of a game when Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda complains to the umpires about the hairy orange giant's behavior at Olympic Stadium. The L.A. skipper takes exception to the loud noise caused by the hairy creature's running leap onto the visitors' dugout before sneaking back into a front row seat.

1989

The second-longest shutout in big league history ends when Rick Dempsey hits a home run in the top of the 22nd inning, giving the Dodgers an eventual 1-0 victory over the Expos at Olympic Stadium. The Astros blanked the Mets for 24 frames en route to a 1-0 win at the Astrodome in 1968.

1998

Barry Bonds becomes the first player in major league history to hit 400 home runs and steal at least 400 bases (438). The Giant slugger reached the unmatched plateau with his 26th homer of the year against Marlin southpaw Kirt Ojala in a 10-5 San Francisco victory.

1998

At County Stadium against the Padres, Bob Hamelin hits his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season. It is the most pinch-hit home runs hit by a single Brewer player in a season and is also the all-time franchise record.

1998

With his 50th and 51st dingers, Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa joins Mark McGwire (53) of the Cardinals in hitting 50 home runs, making it only the second time two National League hitters have reached the plateau in the same season. Pirates outfielder Ralph Kiner and Giants first baseman Johnny Mize each hit a league-leading 51 round trippers in 1947.

1998

Although Scott Rolen has started all but one game this season and appeared in every one, Phillies manager Terry Francona's decision not to play his third baseman today, of all days, proves to be very unpopular. It's Scott Rolen T-shirt Day, a promotion for kids 14 and under, and many of the Veterans Stadium fans voiced their disappointment about not being able to watch the 23 year-old infielder play on his special day.

1999

Joining Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire, Mariner outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the third player in major league history to hit 200 homers in a four-season span. Junior's 39th helps Seattle beat the Indians, 4-1.

2000

At Comerica Park, fans flee their seats as swarms of small insects invade the stands during the first inning. The six-legged pests do not affect the players, and the game continues uninterrupted with the Tigers edging the Mariners, 6-5.

2000

Team president Bob Graziano apologizes to a female couple who were asked to leave Dodger Stadium on August 8th because the two shared a kiss during a game. The pair felt the action of the eight security guards was discriminatory because the couple's friends, a man and a woman, also kissed but were not ejected.

In his major league debut, Jason Jennings gets off to an impressive start by going 3-for-5 at the plate while tossing a complete-game shutout in the Rockies' 10-0 rout of New York at Shea Stadium. With his ninth-inning round-tripper off Donnie Wall, the 23 year-old right-handed rookie becomes the only hurler to blank his opponent and to go deep in his first big league game.

2003

In front of a full house at Yankee Stadium, Ron Guidry’s uniform 49 is retired on the lefty’s special day. ‘Louisiana Lightning’, who played his entire career in New York, posting a 170-90 record for the Bronx Bombers, is surprised the club hasn't just honored him with a day but has retired his jersey and placed a plaque in Monument Park in his honor.

2006

Carlos DelGado's 400th career home run, his second of the game, proves to be significant when his fourth inning grand slam dramatically closes the gap in the Mets' eventual 8-7 comeback victory over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The bases-loaded home run is New York's ninth of the season, establishing a new club record.

2006

Joining the 1989 Pirates, the Royals became the second team in big league history to have a 10-run first inning and not win the game. At Kauffman Stadium, the home team takes an early 10-1 lead, but is defeated by the Indians in ten innings, 15-13.

2006

With his 16th bunt single of the season, Houston center fielder Willy Taveras extends his hitting streak to 26 games to set an Astros record. The previous mark was set by second baseman Jeff Kent in 2004.

2007

With his 1,150th victory as the Bronx Bombers skipper, Joe Torre passes Casey Stengel for second place on the Yankees all time managerial win list. Joe McCarthy compiled a franchise record, winning 1,460 contests during his 16-year tenure in the dugout.

2008

A protest of parents and teammates is held, demanding Jericho Scott be allowed to continue to pitch in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven. The nine year-old, a right-hander with pinpoint control of a 40-mph fastball, was banned from the mound for throwing too hard.

2008

At Beijing's Wukesong Baseball Field, South Korea, not favored to compete for a medal, upsets Cuba to win the gold in the Olympic final. The unbeaten squad, which finished with a 9-0 record, now will not have to report for two years of military duty, due to their heroics on the diamond.

2009

After a shaky defensive bottom of the ninth inning at Citi Field, in which he makes an error and another poor play allowing a batter to reach on an infield hit, Eric Bruntlett redeems himself when he turns the Mets' attempted double steal into a game-ending unassisted triple play. The fourteenth single-handed regular-season triple killing, only the second one which results in the last three outs of a game, occurs when the Phillies' second baseman snares Jeff Francoeur's line drive up the middle for the first out, steps on second to double up Luis Castillo, and then tags the runner coming from first base, Daniel Murphy, for the last out of Philadelphia's 9-7 victory.

2011

The Angels formally announce the signing of their #1 starter, 28 year-old right-hander Jered Weaver, to a five-year contract extension reported to be worth $85 million. The American League All-Star game starter, who was eligible to become a free agent after the 2012 season, has compiled a 14-6 record along with a league-leading 2.10 ERA so far this season.

2013

At a Dodger Stadium press conference, LA announces Vin Scully will continue to broadcast Dodgers' games for his 65th consecutive season. Some of the historic moments the Hall of Fame broadcaster has called include Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, 19 no-hitters, including four thrown by Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron's 715th home run, and Kirk Gibson's dramatic walk-off in the 1988 Fall Classic.